Storzapreti

Ingredients

• 800 g Swiss chard leaves, green parts only
• 400 g brocciu or well-drained ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 60 g grated hard sheep's cheese or Parmesan, plus 40 g for the top
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 60 g plain flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 700 g crushed tomatoes or passata
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove for the sauce, sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• A few basil leaves
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Strip the chard leaves from their stalks and wash them well
• Chop the onion and both garlic cloves
• Drain the brocciu in a sieve if it is wet
• Chop the mint

Steps

1. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan and soften the onion and the sliced garlic over low heat for eight minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and simmer for 25 minutes, until the sauce thickens and darkens.
3. Tear in the basil, season, and set the sauce aside.
4. Boil the chard leaves in salted water for three minutes, until limp.
5. Drain the chard and cool it under cold running water.
6. Squeeze the chard in your hands, then in a tea towel, until it is genuinely dry and forms a tight ball.
7. Chop the squeezed chard finely and put it in a large bowl.
8. Add the brocciu, the eggs, the 60 g of grated cheese, the mint, the chopped garlic, the nutmeg and plenty of salt and pepper.
9. Work in the flour until the mixture just holds together when pressed in your palm.
10. Shape the mixture into 16 dumplings the size of a small egg with damp hands.
11. Roll each dumpling lightly in flour and set them on a floured tray.
12. Bring a wide pan of salted water to a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil.
13. Poach the dumplings in two batches for about four minutes, lifting each one out 30 seconds after it rises to the surface.
14. Spread most of the tomato sauce in a baking dish and nestle the drained dumplings into it.
15. Spoon the last of the sauce over the tops and scatter with the remaining grated cheese.
16. Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, until the cheese has browned in patches, and serve straight from the dish.